A 22-13 fours defeat was followed by a 20-18 loss in the pairs, and a 21-13 defeat for Jamie MacDonald in the under 25 singles – but the basic statistics do not tell the whole story.
The Jersey quartet of Will Waymouth, Darren Clark, Allan Shaw and Tommy Greechan looked in fine fettle when they raced into an early lead over the Irish champions, skipped by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neil Booth.
Starting with two hard-earned singles, they dropped a single on the third end, but picked up a double and a four to lead 8-1, and were sitting pretty, 9-2 in front after seven ends.
Still 11-4 ahead after 11 ends, they suffered a disastrous mid-game spell, conceding 14 shots, including a six on the unlucky thirteenth, without reply over the next five ends, and trailed 18-11 after 16.
Stopping the rot with a brace of singles, their hopes faded as the County Antrim quartet collected two doubles, and they shook hands with an end still to play, with the Irish out of reach at 22-13.
‘Tommy played brilliantly for the first ten ends, but just could not keep it up in the second half,’ said the Irish champions’ second man Trevor Robinson.
Cyril Renouf and Gus Hodgetts gave England champions Duncan Robinson and Brett Morley, from Nottingham, a tough time, making good a 10-2 deficit to level at 12-12 by the 15th end, but still finished two shots adrift.
But it was 18-year-old Jamie MacDonald who really impressed local spectators as he surged into an 8-1 lead over talented Welsh junior champion David Axon, from Cardiff, who last week suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of the legendary John Price in the Welsh final.
Playing brilliantly, Jamie was still 13-11 in front after 14 ends, but, astonishingly, it was all over five ends later, after Axon had piled up ten shots without reply, a 2-2-1-2-3 sequence getting him home, 21-13.
MacDonald, Will Waymouth and Tommy Greechan have a great chance to bounce back today, when they line up in the semi final of the triples against a couple of Irish teenagers and their Provincial Towns clubmate.
Conor Gilmore (15), Gary Kelly (16) and Ronnie Milliken, who is (just) old enough to be their grandfather, pulled off a dramatic 12-10 win over a vastly experience Welsh trio skipped by Dai Wilkins yesterday, and are looking forward to meeting the Jersey trio today.
